MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Manny Pacquiao has vowed to increase the annual budget for the judiciary if he is elected president in the May 9 elections.
For Pacquiao, judicial reforms will never be a reality for as long as the judiciary has meager resources
“If we are looking for a good justice system, we need to increase, if possible, triple, the judiciary’s budget,” he said in Filipino at an election forum organized by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) last Friday night.
The world-boxing champ cited his experience as a senator, emphasizing that only one or two percent of the government’s yearly budget is set aside for the judiciary.
He also lamented the poor conditions of courts in the country.
“The courts are like they are only in toilets, very small,” Pacquiao said.
With meager resources, Pacquiao said another problem is that there are not enough judges and lawyers to hear cases, resulting in backlogs in courts.
“The longer the time that cases take to be solved, the more that there are negotiations, leading to instances of corruption,” he added.
There is also a need to restore moral values in families to make them stronger against gambling, alcoholism and other vices, according to the senator.
He underscored bringing back the morale fiber in households is one of his priorities if he becomes the country’s next leader.
“We will teach them the right way, we will bring back moral values and we will teach the word of God,” Pacquiao said.
He added that couples should learn to know that they have their respective limitations and know their roles within the family.
The presidential aspirant also admitted that when he was young, he had vices that almost destroyed his family.
“I’ve made it past through being a drunkard, gambler, womanizer,” he said.